My take on the 1959 Oregon Centennial Medals.......Caveman

coinsarefun

This is my take on collecting the 1959 Oregon Centennial tokes/medals. Since there are multitudes of Medals out there, most with the same obverse I thought to collect the ones with the most interesting and pretty dog gone cool designs.There are a few more I am contemplating to get but will have to see.
.
Also proves Coins Are Fun if you look and try to be on the lighter side of life
.
.
I want to start with best and craziest design of Grants Pass Cavemen......yep a real group that formed.
This is the back story I have found searching the internet.......
The reverse promotes Grants Pass, 50 cents in trade or redeemable at face value at local merchants and gives an expiration date. It seems there were many of these left over and basically sat there until 1964. When Grants Pass began to feel the effects of the coin shortage the surplus tokens were put into circulation at the stated value of 50 cents.
They ground of the expiration date and released the tokens into circulation. The ones where they didn't obliterate the dates are rare.
.
.

If you look at the design carefully it looks just like a MLB player........the bat is replaced with a club
One link here
Another link here
This is the Park Services site
This link is a pdf about Introduction to 1959 Oregon Centennial Tokens .by Katie Reinders for the PNNA.
.
.

.
.
So, below are two examples. One in Brass and the other silvered. I haven't seen another silvered version but
I haven't been searching either.
.
.
1959 Oregon Statehood Centennial 50 Cent Token, Grants Pass, MS67 NGC
.

.
1959 Oregon Statehood Centennial 50 Cent Token, Grants Pass, MS65 NGC. Silvered/Brass
.

.
.
I posted this one several days ago in another thread but belongs here. This is not graded and realitvly
common but just love the little guy running on the rolling log!

.
.
Lastly, I have a few of these.....Also common but love the theme. I picked this new one up from the recent HA auction
It's Graded MS67 Proof like. I must admit when taken the image of my ungraded example next to the graded they both
look proof like(raw showing more) but its obvious the graded one is gilt as it shows a wonderful deep glow.
.
.
1959 Oregon Centennial Beaver Dollar, Small Letters, HK-573, MS67 Prooflike NGC. Gilt bronze
.

.
.
the raw one is sitting on another slab just to get a side by side comparison,
.

MsMorrisine

highly attractive

interesting history

Zoins

You have some beautiful tokens Stef!

Love these two!

Is there any background on what the "Oregon Caveman" is?

ricko

Great tokens Stef... I lived in Washington State for twenty years and have not heard of the Oregon Cavemen until your post....Thanks for the interesting tokens and history behind them. Cheers, RickO

Meltdown

Living and shopping here in Oregon, I've seen a number of 59 commems but never that Caveman. Interesting history and coin, I'll keep my eyes out.

coinsarefun

@Zoins said:
You have some beautiful tokens Stef!

Love these two!

Is there any background on what the "Oregon Caveman" is?

>
.
.
If you read up above it was a group of business men wanting to promote the caves.
What better way then cavemen.......lol. I think it’s great pr for all the businesses.
Note it says THE OREGON CAVEMAN INC.

Bob13

cool stuff. As you know, I like this motif!

coinsarefun

I love the Wild Man @Bob13 haven’t had an opportunity
to get one yet. I guess my little slugger will have to do for now

Zoins

They have paper money too!

https://currency.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/depression-scrip/one-leather-issuer-and-four-paper-issuers/a/348-17023.s

coinsarefun

@Zoins said:
They have paper money too!

https://currency.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/depression-scrip/one-leather-issuer-and-four-paper-issuers/a/348-17023.s

>

I forgot to mention this!

Catbert

Stef, you have the coolest tokens, bar none.

spacehayduke

Really cool tokens, as an Oregonian, I am happy to find out about these - had no idea.

Best, SH

Broadstruck